Stephen Bunting Triumphs in Nordic Darts Masters as Luke Littler's Exit Shocks the Arena

Stephen Bunting beat Rob Cross 8-4 to win the Nordic Darts Masters and win his the second Major League Baseball World Series tournament this year .

The concluding match was a rerun of the Dutch Darts Masters, where Cross emerged victorious with an 8-5 scoreline back in January. This time around, it was 'Voltage' who began strongly by being the initial player to reach a finishing double with his turn at throwing. After landing a 180, Cross followed up with a precise 55 checkout using just two darts, thereby taking command of the leg.

Bunting, who claimed victory at the Bahrain Darts Masters earlier this year, responded by holding his throw to draw level. Cross regained the advantage with a 12-dart effort before Bunting struck back once more. The pattern persisted throughout their play, leading to a tied score of 3-3 when they paused for the interval.

• Luke Littler is eliminated from the Nordic Darts Masters as his opponent breaks his 12-match losing streak.
• The darts icon Bobby George believes Luke Littler and sportsmanship should be included in the Olympic Games.

Following the intermission, Bunting overturned that pattern by capitalising on Cross’ three misfired darts aimed at the leg to secure a break of throw, and subsequently consolidated his position by holding serve to establish a 5-3 advantage.

He seized full command of the match as he once more broke Cross's throws and maintained his own to win five consecutive legs in a row, putting himself just one leg away from securing the victory.

After ultimately overcoming Nathan Apsinall with a score of 7-5, Bunting secured his place in the finals. Despite initially leading 6-1, he faced an intense comeback from 'The Asp,' who briefly packed up his darts only to retrieve them later for a dramatic finish by hitting D10 to continue the match.

'The Bullet' defeated Jonny Clayton 6-3 in the evening quarter-finals following his win over Swedish player Oskar Lukasiak in the opening round on Friday.

In the quarter-finals, Cross showcased exceptional form by blanking out Chris Dobey with a score of 6-0. He then went on to defeat Gerwyn Price in the semi-finals with a score of 7-4.

Luke Littler saw his first campaign in the Nordic Masters come to an end as he was defeated by Aspinall in the quarter-finals. In the match, Stockton-on-Tees-based darts player Aspinall came back from behind to clinch three consecutive sets, ultimately winning with a score of 6-3. This victory broke his streak of 12 games where he hadn’t managed to secure a win against his teammate Littler.

Share :